This invention relates to a Method for Extracting Oil from Oil Shale, and more particularly to a heating, classifying and centrifuging process which maximizes the efficiency of such extraction.
The search for new energy resources has led to many efforts to extract hydrocarbons from materials previously considered uneconomic, such as tar sands and oil shales. The key to success in any such extraction technique lies in providing a maximum efficiency of energy use in the extraction process, per amount of hydrocarbon extracted.
The methods proposed in the prior art known to me have all tended to fail that criterion of maximum hydrocarbon yield for minimum energy input. In some methods, hydrocarbon yield was increased by crushing the oil shale to an extremely fine powder, necessitating a large energy consumption in the crushing process. Other methods relied on very high temperatures for greater extraction, again requiring a heavy input energy "debt". Still other methods have required complex and expensive processing equipment, such as closed-retort systems.